The Boniuk Institute hosted the Religious leader Track at the Annual Meeting for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) + Religious Research Association (RRA) in Pittsburgh, PA. This annual forum offers an opportunity for scholars to share relevant research on religion and various aspects of public life with religious leaders and practitioners and also to be educated by them about the needs and realities of practitioners and congregations.
Eight scholars discussed topics including race and congregations; faith, medicine, and mental health; and clergy well being to a diverse group of religious and nonprofit leaders from across the United States. (Read the highlights from session scholars on Boniuk Institute's LinkedIn page).
Following the day's scholarly sessions, Institute director and RRA president Elaine Howard Ecklund gave the keynote address at the annual H. Paul Douglass lecture, offering insight on how academics can share their scholarship with religious leaders. Ecklund described multiple benefits of collaborative relations between scholars and religious leaders:
Working with religious leaders helps researchers
- to translate and communicate their research results using accessible language
- to formulate relevant avenues of research into timely questions
- conduct research that is sensitive and respectful to the religious community it is meant to service
- disseminate and amplify research findings to their constituents
- enriches the academic community around relevant topics related to religion and public life
- by encouraging other religious leaders to participate in research
Many scholars and researchers, she said, lack skills in public scholarship. More training is needed to develop researchers who are also good public communicators. Collaborations with religious community leaders can help to bridge that knowledge gap. And in these times where so many people have lost trust in the media, trust in their religious leaders remains high. Religious leaders are important actors in educating opinions and attitudes.
Following Ecklund's talk, a panel of experts, Pew's Besheer Mohamed, Baker Institute's Michael Emerson, Baylor's Jerry Park, and Penn State's Esmeralda Sanchez Salazar offered personal experiences of translating academic work for religious audiences.